WASHINGTON — Ali Astoria opened Maa's Chicken so he could give people in D.C. what he calls "real food," not out of a box or a freezer, but something he made himself from scratch. But three months in, he's feeling the effects of the federal surge on his business .

"It was just a dream, you know?" he said. "And then you get to the dream, you think the dream is nice and then it becomes way harder."

Astoria worked in restaurants for more than a decade, bussing and waiting tables. But he always wanted to own his own place.

But two months after he opened Maa's Chicken near I and 14th Streets Northwest, federal troops and the National Guard began patrolling D.C. streets under the order of President Donald Trump.

Now, those tables aren't as full.

Among those eating at Maa's was Camila

See Full Page